LEWISTON – The Teagle Foundation of New York City has announced that Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Smith and Trinity colleges and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges will receive a $300,000 grant to assess educational practices and student learning in selective liberal arts colleges. Bates was named as the lead institution to administer the three-year grant.

The foundation announced nationwide $2 million in new grants for 13 collaborative projects designed to generate and disseminate new knowledge regarding faculty driven value added assessment programs.

The grants are part of Teagle’s Outcomes and Assessment Initiative.”Nothing has the potential to enhance the educational experience as much as a sustained assessment of how and what students learn,” said W. Robert Connor, president of the Teagle Foundation.

“Teagle’s approach to assessment starts with teachers in the classroom, instead of being driven by pressure from the top down, to create new methods of understanding student engagement. We believe that once this knowledge is applied at other institutions, our work has the potential to far surpass the dollars we have invested.”

The round of grants involves faculty from more than 50 colleges and universities.

The foundation is committed to providing intellectual and financial leadership for the promotion and strengthening of liberal education.